The present invention relates to a combination paint marking, hole forming and flag insertion device for surface marking and flagging the path of underground utilities.
The surface marking and flagging of the path of underground utility lines generally requires a three step procedure. An aerosol spray paint is first used to spray a brightly colored paint or other marking composition spaced along and onto the surface of the ground overlying the underground utility. A hole is then bored into the so marked soil subsurface using a spike or other pointed instrument, after which a flag is manually inserted into the newly formed hole. Such a procedure is cumbersome and generally has required two tools: one tool for applying the paint or marking composition and another tool for boring the hole. Lastly, a plastic or wire staff on which a small flag is mounted must be manually inserted into the newly formed hole. In tall grass, or highly vegetated or debris covered areas, it is often difficult to find the newly bored hole and, when found, the worker must bend over to insert the flag. Such repetitive bending motions often cause back strains, sprains and other injuries, with attendant lost time and medical expenses. Also, because the staff of the typical marking flag is generally of substantially smaller diameter than that of the newly bored hole, the flag, when inserted, may not be sufficiently secured within the hole, creating a risk of the flag being blown from the hole by strong winds or being inadvertently removed if someone brushes against it.
There are a number of devices in the prior art which have attempted to overcome some of the shortcomings of the procedure for marking and flagging the path of underground utility lines. U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,279, for example, describes an aerosol paint dispensing apparatus having flag staking capability by incorporating a spike or stake member used to create an opening or hole in the soil subsurface, after which the flag must be manually inserted into the hole. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,565 describes a device with like capabilities, but which still requires manual insertion of a flag into the newly formed hole.
It is one object of the present invention to overcome the above described shortcomings and allow the surface marking, hole boring and flag insertion for the marking of underground utilities to be carried out with a single device without the need to manually insert the marking flags into the ground. It is a further object of the invention to provide a device which after applying the marking paint, can bore a hole for a marking flag, and insert the flag without requiring the worker to bend over to manually insert the flag; as well as minimizing the risk of the flag being blown from the hole by winds, or of its inadvertent removal from the hole, as the flag staff, when inserted, is bent into a xe2x80x9cvxe2x80x9d or barbed configuration by the novel design of the boring tip of the present invention, and which barbed configuration provides desired holding tension for the flag staff within the hole. Should the soil subsurface be dry, or hard packed as often found in clay soils, an optional foot post may be incorporated into the device to allow the worker to exert additional downward force on the boring tip. In softer soils, only the force exerted on the handle by the worker is generally sufficient to bore a hole into which the marking flag can be inserted.